A mismanaged oil price hike call leaves Congress in the lurch ...... "The Congress has a death wish...they now believe their neo-liberal economic arguments." A.B. Bardhan, CPI general secretary "The PM has done this in the national interest. The BJP just twists facts around." Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Science "UPA muffed up on the food economy, duties rationalisation. They can't handle a crisis." Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP spokesperson

The Manmohan Method * The PM is low-key but meticulous in understanding and implementing policy * He has monitored the NCMP on a monthly basis. The task was given to three IAS officers in the PMO. * Assessment of a political manifesto's implementation is unprecedented. * He has quietly pushed officers and tried to convince the political class to act on the NCMP. * In spite of disappointment over the Indo-US nuclear deal, he still hopes to make a mark in foreign policy through a trip to Pakistan. ***